Ernst: Greek tragedy or Florida politics, as usual?

Friday

Dec 13, 2013 at 3:26 PM

Local political kingmaker Bob Waechter pleaded guilty Thursday to a felony and a misdemeanor for making false campaign donations.

ERIC ERNST

The final act of a Greek tragedy played out Thursday morning in a Sarasota County courtroom when local political kingmaker Bob Waechter pleaded guilty to a felony and a misdemeanor for making false campaign donations.

To discredit Republican county commission candidate Lourdes Ramirez, Waechter had used a prepaid credit card to make it appear Ramirez had donated to the 2012 campaigns of President Barack Obama, congressional candidate Keith Fitzgerald and state Senate candidate Liz Alpert, all Democrats.

He might have gotten away with it, too, if Ramirez hadn't filed a complaint with the sheriff's office, which later unearthed a store video that showed Waechter purchasing the credit card.

In the tradition of Greek protagonists Oedipus, Creon and Agamemnon, Waechter fell victim to his own hubris, which would translate loosely as pride leading to arrogance. Greek literature bustles with the tales of men who believe they are above the laws, morals and customs of their society.

It's a popular theme, because there's hubris in all of us, and we can see ourselves in these flawed characters. The moral of the stories lies in the realization that we have to control the urges that such pride can cultivate or we, too, will meet an unhappy ending.

Waechter was not fated to blind himself or be killed by his wife or suffer his daughter's death, as some of the Greek figures were. Instead, he has to pay a fine, undergo three months of house arrest submit to 100 hours of community service, absorb a blotch on his record and possibly endure a fall from grace in political circles.

On a less literary note, the system worked, although many feared it would not. The office of Sheriff Tom Knight, who admitted he views Waechter as a friend, pursued the leads that materialized into solid evidence.

State Attorney Ed Brodsky, whom Waechter endorsed and supported in the 2012 election campaign, enlisted prosecutor Brian Iten to arrange the evidence into a case he could win in court.

Yes, given Waechter's decades of activity in Republican election campaigns, conflicts of interest abounded in this case, exacerbated by the apparent willingness of the FBI to get involved and Brodsky's decline of that offer. However, the results suggest that all parties performed their duties. This is no more than what we should expect. That we had doubts shows how cynical the public has become to anything that touches on politics.

The exposure of Waechter's dirty campaign trick just feeds that cynicism, leaving observers to wonder what else is going on that isn't coming to light.

In a statement he read to the judge, Waechter said all the right things. He apologized to Ramirez. He noted he "lost sight of the dividing line between right and wrong and crossed it decisively."

"My actions caused embarrassment to the very people I held in the highest regard and the organizations that had placed their trust in me, putting them in the uncomfortable position of having to explain why I had been trusted in the first place," he said.

He described the political process as competitive, combative, contentious, bruising. In its arena, alliances and friendships shift with abandon, driven only by the question "What have you done for me lately?"

During his work on campaigns and his tenure on advisory boards, Waechter forged scores of connections and helped dozens of candidates get elected. Yet, on Thursday, when the time came to face the judge, not a single friend was there to support him. He stood alone in the courtroom with his attorney, who was presumably paid to be there.

It had to be a humbling experience.

In the hallway afterward, though, Waechter intimated that this Greek tragedy may have an epilogue. He was trying to make the point that his actions to discredit Ramirez had nothing to do with her opponent in the county commission race, Al Maio, whom Waechter described as his friend.

He said something to the effect of "I support good candidates. I oppose bad candidates."

But who decides who is a good candidate and who is a bad one? Bob Waechter? This is where a lot of the problems with politics start. So-called good old boys get together, hand-pick candidates, lavish them with enough money to intimidate potential challengers and in effect hijack the process before it can get going. Ultimately, the public is cheated out of having a choice.

Even if Waechter has found religion, plenty of people out there have the hubris to know they can take his place.